China says appreciates France’s ‘independent’ foreign policy

China’s foreign minister told President Emmanuel Macron that Beijing appreciated France’s “independent” stance as the pair met in Paris on Tuesday.

Meeting the French leader on the final leg of a European tour, Wang Yi — China’s top diplomat — described their two countries as “important forces in a multipolar world”.

“We should strengthen strategic coordination, deepen strategic cooperation, and make contributions to promote global peace and stability,” Wang said, according to a Chinese foreign ministry readout.

“The Chinese side appreciates France’s adherence to an independent foreign policy,” he said.

France and China have sought to strengthen ties in recent years, with Paris’s then-top diplomat in November visiting Beijing and saying the two countries must “strive to find answers to major challenges”.

Macron also visited last April, receiving a rock star welcome at a university in southern China from hundreds of screaming students and fans.

But he faced accusations of cosying up to Beijing and sparked controversy by saying Europe shouldn’t be a “follower” of the United States in the event of conflict with China over Taiwan.

And Wang on Tuesday said he hoped “that France will continue to play a constructive role in the healthy and stable development of China-Europe relations”, Beijing said.

Paris, in turn, said the two sides had focused on strengthening bilateral trade.

“The discussion mainly focused on the intensification of exchanges between the two countries, particularly in the agrifood and aeronautics (sectors),” the French presidency said.

They also focused on what France described as “the crucial role that China can play” in ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“They expressed the same objective of contributing to peace, while respecting international law,” the French presidency said.

While China says it is a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict, it has been criticised for refusing to condemn Moscow for its offensive.